World

Israeli air strike kills two militants in Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed two Palestinian militants and critically wounded a third in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the military and Palestinian medical officials said.

The attack was on a car traveling along a coastal road near a beach refugee camp in Gaza, witnesses said. One source identified the men as belonging to the Popular Resistance Committees, a network of militant groups that has fired rockets into southern Israel.

The Israeli military said the men targeted had been "involved in firing at Israel in recent weeks and were planning serious terror attacks against Israeli residents".

In earlier violence, four Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire near the southern part of the Israel-Gaza border, medical officials said. They included an 11-year-old boy who was in a serious condition.

The Israeli army said its troops near the border fence had been targeted by an explosive device and tanks responded with "fire towards lookout posts used to guide the attack against the forces".

Palestinians from Gaza have launched several rocket attacks into Israeli territory in the past two weeks and Israel has retaliated by bombing targets in Gaza, including training grounds belonging to militant factions.